Mince Pies - Episode 1 - The Pastry

It's Christmas Eve, and now I know it is for sure, because I'm baking mince pies. This is truly one of those 'old world' things, because nobody here does it but it's the enduring memory of my childhood Christmases.

The first step is to make the pastry, and generations of women guided my hands as I did so.

I measured the flour into the sieve, then held it high above the bowl, tapping with the heel of my hand rhythmically, and the flour fell in soft curtains into the bowl. It made a 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' sort of mound in the middle.

Then I cut lumps of cold butter and shortening into the pile. The mound was now a pillow, each lump landing so gratefully into the softness, half buried already.

I used my pastry mixing tool to mix the butter in. Most people have never seen one of these, or if they have, don't know what it's for.

When it was in small lumps, I re-washed my hands in cold, cold water to make sure they were cold and oil free. Then I started to rub the butter in with my finger tips; again, lifting the mixture up high as I rubbed to let the air mix in as it falls.

A light touch is essential, and this was the skill and the concern for my mother and grandmother and aunts - to have a light touch with pastry, not to let the butter get too warm and oily, to keep the flour airy.

Then I sprinkled ice water, mixing it in with a cold fork, trying not to use my warming hands too much. Another worry - how much is enough. You only want just enough to bind the pastry, you don't want it sticky.

When it's just clumping, tip it onto the table, knead quickly into two balls, wrap in plastic, and there...a chance to relax, the pastry is resting in the fridge for 30 minutes.

So far so good.